Class 8 English Poorvi

Unit 3: Mystery and Magic

The Case of the Fifth Word

Encyclopedia Brown by Donald J. Sobol

Chapter Summary

Important Notes

1. Main Characters

2. Important Vocabulary

3. The Important Code

The letters d-a-y are removed from the names of the days. The fifth word is therefore Fir, which points to the young fir tree.

Let us do these activities before we read

I Work in pairs. Solve the crossword puzzle given below with the clues in the form of anagrams.

Across: 3. Declare 6. Tucks 7. Heart 9. Felt 10. Sown 12. Sword 13. Evil

Down: 1. Aces 2. Read 4. Tool 5. Alps 6. Hooks 8. Mane 11. Loves

II Work in pairs. Match the different meanings of ‘case’ in Column 2 with the correct usage in the sentences in Column 1. Share your answers with your classmates and teacher.

Let us discuss

I Complete the following statements with suitable reasons. Share your answers with your classmates and teacher.

II Do you think Chief Brown would need Leroy’s help to solve this case? If yes, why? If no, why not?

Let us discuss

I A fact is something that can be proven true or false. A fact is not based on people’s beliefs. An opinion on the other hand is a belief, feeling, or judgement, and can vary from one person to another. An opinion cannot be proven.

Identify which of the following statements from part I and II of the story are facts or opinions. One example has been done for you. Share your answers with your classmates and teacher.

II Complete the table by choosing the character traits of Leroy given in the box below. There is an extra word that you do not need. One example has been done for you.

cleverness knowledgeable keen listener gentle humble

Extra word: gentle

Let us think and reflect

1. Chief Brown would have liked to tell everyone about his only child. But who would believe him? Who would believe that the best detective alive was an eighth grader? So, he said nothing.

Encyclopedia never spoke of the help he gave his father. He didn’t want to seem different from other boys. But there was nothing he could do about his nickname. He was stuck with it.

Only his parents and teachers called him by his real name, Leroy. Everyone else called him Encyclopedia.

Chief Brown’s dilemma can be called unique because____________.

A. He is shy and lacks confidence in his abilities to share his insights.
B. He wants to avoid the jealousy others might feel about his skills.
C. He desires to blend with the other boys to prevent seeming different.
D. He is embarrassed about being smarter than most adults around him.

A. For them he is more than his unique abilities; he is their child, with a personal identity.
B. Calling him by his real name reflects their affection and the desire to acknowledge him as an ordinary boy.
C. They want him to be remembered as different from the others around.

2. Chief Brown studied the four words: Nom Utes Sweden Hurts. He shook his head and passed the notebook to Mrs. Brown again. “Can you figure it out?”

“Nom is a shortening of nominative, a grammatical term,” stated Mrs. Brown, who had taught English and other subjects in high school. “Utes is an American Indian tribe. Sweden is a country in northern Europe. Hurts is hurts.”

She lifted her gaze to Encyclopedia and shook her head. “I can’t figure it out,” she confessed.

“Davenport disappeared right after the hold-up,” Encyclopedia reminded her.

A. He is confident that the words are a clue.
B. He is confused, unable to make sense of the words.
C. He believes the words are random and meaningless.
D. He thinks the words are unrelated to the case.

Mrs. Brown explained the actual meanings of the individual words rather than decoding the hidden message behind them.

The purpose of Encyclopedia’s reminder in the last line of the extract was to _________________. (refocus the discussion on the context of the crime/suggest that the coded message was meant for Davenport/imply that the message was likely a clue about the location of the stolen jewellery)

II Answer the following questions.

You may begin it like this:

Encyclopedia was a knowledgeable eighth grader who never forgot a fact that he read.

Let us learn

I Match the phrasal verbs from the text given in Column 1 with their meanings in Column 2. You may refer to a dictionary.

Now, fill in the blanks with the phrasal verbs given in Column 1.

A. Finally, some important evidence about the case has _______________.

B. After I _______________, I understood that I had made a big mistake.

C. I couldn’t _______________ why he was angry with me.

D. He _______________ his special coat and went to his friend’s birthday party.

E. Ravi forgets to do his homework but he _______________ it as teacher didn’t ask for it that day.

F. I do not know what to _______________ his behaviour.

II Fill in the blanks in the following sentences by choosing the correct word pairs from the box given below.

week/weak    dying/dyeing    fore/four    peace/piece    break/brake

1. After running for 50 kilometres last _________________, I felt _________________ for two days.

2. When the committee met yesterday, they brought _________________ local cases to the _________________.

3. While learning to drive, Rina used too much force on the _________________, causing the car to _________________ down.

4. He has composed a beautiful _________________ of music in order to bring _________________ to thousands of people.

5. She was busy _________________ her hair not caring about the _________________ flowers in her garden.

III Leroy solved the mystery of the missing fifth word with his critical thinking abilities. Work in pairs to solve the puzzles given in the illustrations below and infer what they say. One example has been done for you.

Answer: Top secret

IV Spoonerism is a mistake made when speaking, where the first sounds of the words in a phrase or a sentence are exchanged with each other. This usually gives a funny meaning.

Some examples of spoonerism are saying ‘wrong load’ instead of ‘long road’, ‘round of mice’ instead of ‘mound of rice’.

Find the correct order for the following spoonerisms.

V Read the following sentences from the text and study the highlighted words.

1. Everyone thought that he must be the smartest police chief in the country.
2. She read what he had copied.
3. They tell where the jewellery is hidden.
4. “Nom is a shortening of nominative, a grammatical term,” stated Mrs. Brown, who had taught English and other subjects in high school.
5. “Nolan and Davenport had met,” Chief Brown said, “while both were in prison in South Carolina.”
6. When he came up against a case he couldn’t solve, he acted at once.
7. The code is simple, especially as it’s written on a sheet from a calendar.
8. They became friendly because of shared interests.
9. Encyclopedia solved the case for him before dinner was over.

Now, fill in the blanks with the words in the box given below to complete the following sentences. There are two extra words that you do not need.

where   why   who   though   which   when   because   if   how   whose

VI Combine the following pairs of sentences using the word given in brackets. One example has been done for you.

1. We gave him the signal. He was waiting for the signal. (that)

2. We went to a place. The incident occurred there. (where)

3. Teacher said she would retire soon. She is now nearly sixty. (who)

4. It was the day. Half the class was absent. (when)

VII Read the following sentences from the text.

1. “What’s suspicious about that?” Mrs. Brown asked.
2. “What do you make of the four words, Leroy?”
3. “Wasn’t he mixed up in a jewellery robbery a few years ago?”
4. “Didn’t you search Nolan’s house, dear?”
5. “Is there a young fir tree in Mr. Nolan’s palm-tree nursery?”

The given sentences are the direct words of the speaker, hence, they are in direct speech.

While reporting these direct words to someone else at some other time and some other place, we make certain modifications in person, tense, and adverbs of place and time.

Indirect Speech

(i) Mrs. Brown asked ______________________________________________.

(ii) Mrs. Brown questioned Leroy __________________________________.

(iii) Mrs. Brown inquired __________________________________________.

(iv) Mrs. Brown asked Chief Brown ________________________________.

(v) Mrs. Brown inquired ___________________________________________.

VIII Rewrite the following sentences in Reported Speech.

1. “Why did you stop talking to me?” asked Rohan.
Rohan questioned __________________________________________________.

2. “Did you enjoy the family gathering yesterday?” asked my aunt.
My aunt asked ______________________________________________________.

3. “When will you visit us again?” asked my grandmother.
My grandmother inquired _________________________________________.

4. Madavi said to Ravi, “Will you come with me to meet our old teacher tomorrow?” asked Madavi.
Madavi asked Ravi __________________________________________________.

5. My friend said, “What gift are you planning to give your brother?”
My friend inquired _________________________________________________.

6. “Shall I carry these notebooks to the staffroom, Ma’am?” asked Veenu.
Veenu asked her teacher ____________________________________________.

IX Read the conversation between Aditi and Rahul.

Complete the following paragraph by transforming the dialogue in indirect speech.

Aditi asked Rahul 1. ___________________________________________________.

Rahul replied that he had noticed a man wearing a blue jacket drop it off.

Aditi asked Rahul 2. ___________________________________________________.

Rahul replied that it had been around 6.45 p.m.

Aditi further inquired 3. ______________________________________________.

Rahul said that he had worn a hood, so he couldn’t see his face.

Let us listen

I You will listen to a podcast about ways of improving observation skills. As you listen, mark the statements 1–4 as true or false.

1. Observation skills help improve your common sense.
2. Rushing through tasks helps you focus better and observe more.
3. Taking notes or making sketches helps with what you observe.
4. Incorporating tips on observation skills will soon lead to success.

II You will once again listen to the podcast. As you listen, complete the given sentences by filling in the blanks with one to three exact words you hear.

1. It is important to slow down and ___________________ to notice several aspects around you more clearly.

2. The more senses like hearing and smelling you use, the more ___________________ you absorb.

3. People who are ___________________ tend to be better observers because they seek to understand what they notice.

4. When you make a note of things, it helps reinforce the ________________ in your memory.

5. Practising mindfulness helps a person stay ___________________ with their surroundings.

Let us speak

I Read the following words from the text loudly with the help of pronunciation guide given in brackets.

II Work in groups of five or six. Conduct a group discussion on the topic, ‘The Interesting Aspects of a Mystery Story’.

Let us write

I A report is written for an event that has already occurred. The purpose of a report is to provide first-hand details of an incident or event. It presents the information in a proper sequence.

Read the sample report written about the ‘Inter-school Football Tournament’ organised by your Vidyalaya.

Now, as a member of the Art and Craft Club, write a report on an ‘Inter-school Art Exhibition’ organised by your school. Include the necessary details.

Let us explore

I Work in pairs. Read the words and observe the images given below. Check if your answers match. Share your answers with your classmates and teacher.

These are optical illusions which may trick the eye and make you think that you can see two different things.

II Read the steps to play a language game—Name the Mystery Object.

1. Divide the class into teams.
2. Each team chooses an object and prepares three hints to enable the other teams to name the object.
3. Each team takes turns to name the object given by the other team.
4. If a team names the object with the first hint, they get 20 points, with the second hint 10 points, and with the third hint 5 points.

One example with three hints:

1. I display information for all to share, with a swipe I’m clean and bare.
2. I am rectangular or a square, whom neither teacher nor student can spare.
3. I am mostly black, sometimes green, now in white too I am seen.

III Visit the library and look for an encyclopedia. What is it? Check how it is different from a dictionary. Share your answers with your classmates and teacher.

IV A thesaurus is a reference book or digital tool that provides a collection of words with similar meanings, allowing users to find alternative words or phrases to express the same idea. Choose any five words and find out their alternative words from the thesaurus.

Quick Revision